2009-06-03 - With a large share of India’s automobile lighting business, Lumax Industries relies on robot-based automation to ensure consistent high quality and low cycle times.
Gurgaon used to be a small settlement in the Indian countryside but, thanks to its proximity to the capital, New Delhi, it has emerged as one of the fastest-growing cities in India. One of the early arrivals in Gurgaon was Lumax Industries Limited which established an automotive lighting plant there in 1985. Today it is one of Lumax Automotive Parts eight plants in India. The company accounts for more than 60 percent of the market share of the country’s automobile lighting business. Among its international clients are such well-known companies as the American tractor manufacturer John Deere, while its domestic customers include major Indian names including Maruti-Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra. “The auto market in India has been growing at about 25 - 30 percent per annum,” says Lumax Industries Assistant General Manager (Projects), Shabaj Singh, as he surveys the assembly line of the Gurgaon operation “In the last three years, Lumax has managed to match that with an annual growth rate of about 25 percent. In this kind of environment, it is vital that Lumax performs at a consistently high level.” Lumax Automotive Parts prides itself on keeping abreast of the latest trends in production technology.
Automating production
The company made its first venture into automated production in the 1990s, taking delivery of six robots from its Japanese joint venture partner, Stanley Electric Company Ltd. Between 1998 and 2005, Lumax bought six robots from Vaccutek Automation Inc, Taiwan. The following year Lumax turned to ABB, which has since supplied the company with a total of 28 robots (IRB 140 and IRB1410 robot types). “When it comes to choosing vendors,” says Singh, “there are four crucial factors for us: quality, cost, delivery and after-sales service. ABB meets all four of these requirements and that’s why we now go with ABB. Lumax is very satisfied with the robots and with their performance.”
Hot melt adhesive
The principal robot application within Lumax is the gluing of headlamp parts with hot melt adhesive. One specialty of the Gurgaon plant is the assembly of two-wheeler headlamps, mainly for Hero Honda motorcycles. An ABB robot is used to glue together the lamp body’s main components, the lens and the reflector. Half a dozen employees are trained to operate the robot although at any one time, only one person is required to oversees the operation The rest of the unit’s parts are assembled manually. Lumax also has an ABB robot for training and hanging from the roof above the robot is a sign which proclaims in bold letters: “Quality is Everybody’s Responsibility.”
Increasing productivity
“The introduction of these robots was seen by Lumax not just as an improvement to the process but as an essential requirement,” says Singh. “For that reason, we don’t really look at the issue of return on investment in the same way as a lot of companies. But Lumax has done its sums. We estimate that ROI payback time is 39 months per robot – but this is not the decisive factor when looking at an essential capital investment of this kind.” Lumax estimates the productivity levels using the ABB robots are significantly higher than when relying solely on manual labor: For every eight-hour shift, says the company, one hour of labor time is saved. For example, whereas manual production can produce 300 two-wheeler headlamps per hour, robot production can produce 345 finished pieces per hour. Similarly, the cycle time for the manual production of a two-wheeler headlamp is about 16 seconds – four seconds slower than with robot production.
Consistent high product quality
Though unskilled labor in India is still relatively inexpensive in global terms, skilled labor is not always widely available and can no longer be regarded as cheap. Indian companies wishing to compete in the global marketplace increasingly realize that product quality is essential – and to achieve this, modern equipment and manufacturing plant are crucial. “Of course, productivity remains an issue,” says Singh. “But consistency and quality are the main factors for us and that’s where the robots really earn their worth as far as we’re concerned.” Also appreciated by the Lumax staff are the support and after-sales services provided by ABB engineers based at Faridabad, near Delhi.“It’s not so much that our ABB robots benefit any one individual in the company,” says Singh. “The way we look at it, they benefit the whole of Lumax Industries.”
Why robots?
- Saved costs
- Increased productivity
- Reduction of level of parts rejection
- Maintenance of consistency
- One hour’s labor time saved for every eight hour shift
- 345 finished two-wheeler headlamps produced per hour – as against 300 units with manual labor
- Cycle 25 percent reduction in time compared to manual production
|
Lumax
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- The company: Lumax Automotive Parts is one of four companies that make up Lumax Industries Limited, founded by S. C. Jain in 1945
- Turnover: USD 188 million
- Employees: 2,350
- Products: Automotive lighting
- Website: www.lumaxindustries.com
|